This November, voters in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington will consider ballot measures to legalize and regulate marijuana, much as alcohol and tobacco are taxed and regulated. In this first in a series of "one minute debates" for election 2012, three writers give their brief take on the issue.

The 'yes' case is argued by Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). The 'no' position is offered by David G. Evans, a special adviser to the Drug Free America Foundation. And a middle path is suggested by Kevin A. Sabet, who has worked on drug policy under three presidents of both parties.

The USA was a Nation of drunkards. Temperance groups were successful in turning this nation around. And after awhile Prohibition was repealed, but the drug alcohol still remains our number one social disease and is still highly restricted.

Only a fool wants to replace booze with a far greater danger to America

15
posted on 09/11/2012 12:49:34 PM PDT
by Responsibility2nd
(NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)

Actually pot and tobacco are about the same in difficulty. Anybody can grow, anybody can dry it, anybody can smoke it. BUT your quality is based on the seed stock of what you’re growing, how well you keep the bugs away, and how well you dry it (too fast and too slow both have problems). Even booze, it’s actually pretty easy if you’re will to spend the time to do it right. People tend to have other things to do with their time, which is why they buy instead of make.

16
posted on 09/11/2012 12:50:42 PM PDT
by discostu
(Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.)

Prohibition didn’t work. It didn’t stop people from drinking, it drove out formerly legitimate businesses, and gave tons of money to organized crime. That’s not working, it made the problem worse by adding gun fights.

20
posted on 09/11/2012 12:52:59 PM PDT
by discostu
(Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.)

Pot isn’t a complicated substance, it is just a weed, treat it like a tomato plant and the sturdy plant becomes a source for high quality weed, except that it is a neater, tidier plant than a tomato plant, so it is easier to grow in your closet, or spare bedroom.

Since the weed stays useful for years, you can grow your own occasionally maybe 10 pounds at once, and then use the excess for parties and casual sales, gifts to little brothers and sisters, and for in between growing seasons.

21
posted on 09/11/2012 12:54:06 PM PDT
by ansel12
( Aug. 27, 2012-Mitt Romney said his views on abortion are more lenient than the Republican Platform)

"NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!"

Do you dislike what Ann Ryan had to say as well? There is a big difference between a Classic Liberal and a libertarian party liberal. If you don't know the differences then you shouldn't be trolling us.

I am exceptionally tire of the militarized LEO and their WOD and the negative effects on our civil liberties is too high a cost, IMO, to pay for the supposed benefits of interdiction and suppression of marijuana use.

“So which section of the Constitution do you personally believe delegates authority to fedgov to overrule the states on medical marijuana?”

Good point. The booze prohibitionists realized that they needed an amendment if Congress was to have the authority to ban an intoxicant. Drug prohibitionists are as bad as liberals in this respect. They are too lazy to amend the Constitution to expand the federal government’s reach, so they just expand it without any constitutional authority.

I have grown pot and my grandmother used to grow tobbacco, she used it for chewing to save money, but she couldn’t make a fine Marlboro, making Scotch or whiskey is difficult and takes a lot of effort.

Growing pot is incredibly easy, it truly is a weed, in fact it can be hard to keep it out of your yard, to feed it and play with it a little gives you great pot.

Pot is easier than tomatoes, when it is legal it will be like cheap weenies during the summer, it will be shared, and gifted, people will show up at parties with free ounces, because the hobby guys and the gardeners will all be competing with each other. There won’t be anything to regulate.

29
posted on 09/11/2012 1:01:35 PM PDT
by ansel12
( Aug. 27, 2012-Mitt Romney said his views on abortion are more lenient than the Republican Platform)

Prohibition didnt work. It didnt stop people from drinking, it drove out formerly legitimate businesses, and gave tons of money to organized crime. Thats not working, it made the problem worse by adding gun fights

Correct, but vastly undestated. Prior to Prohibition, the primary drink was beer and wine. Whiskey, Gin and other Liquors were considered "low class", and the drink of the drunkard. During Prohibition, people quickly realized that condensing the alcohol was a more efficient and profitable way to move alcohol. A keg of beer gets 20 people drunk - the same keg of Whiskey gets 200 people drunk.

Carry this over to the WOD. 20 years ago, Crack, PCP, Crystal, Meth and a host of other drugs didn't exist. We had various grades of marijuana (none of them holds a candle to the grades commonly available today) and Coke. But, because of demand and the need to concentrate the narcotics; drugs that were never contemplated 20 years ago - are commonplace today, with newer and more addicive variations appearing more and more often.

Prohibition does far more than create a criminal class, and create a very lucrative contraband product. It CREATES newer and more dangerous forms of contraband. For example, prior to Prohibition, the liquor Everclear did not exist.

30
posted on 09/11/2012 1:02:19 PM PDT
by Hodar
(A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.- Burroughs)

This is an issue that tears me. One the one hand the fedgov has no responsibility to protect people from themselves. I don’t see any reason to ban pot.

On the other hand I tend to detest pot heads. They usually have no motivation and contribute nothing to society.

I could be convinced to support legalization IF any crime involving the drug (say selling to minors) was dealt with extremely harshly, AND any health damage resulting from it’s use was not covered by any form of government aid or even private insurance (in other words, you smoke it and it kills you - tough noogies!) Of course I feel the same way towards alcohol, tobacco, not using seat belts, and riding motorcycles without helmets. It’s not my job to pay for someone else’s stupidity.

I did hear a report this morning that pot greatly increases the incidence in testicular cancer. Again, if you smoke it and your balls fall off don’t come crying to me.

She could have, but you need to get the right seeds, grow them right, harvest them right, age them right and dry them right. Same thing happens with pot, there’s ditch weed which is what you probably grew, and there’s top end indica you can sell for over $1000 an ounce. There’s a lot of hard work, patience and good seeds that goes into making top end pot.

Tobacco’s legal and people aren’t running around selling ditch tobacco. If it became illegal though it would show up. Quality white markets kill low end black markets, people are willing to pay for convenience and quality.

37
posted on 09/11/2012 1:08:22 PM PDT
by discostu
(Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.)

On the other hand I tend to detest pot heads. They usually have no motivation and contribute nothing to society.

So, your personal animosity towards a certain segment of a society should be enough to warrant the criminalization of a naturally-occurring substance and continue the expanding reach of the federal government into the private lives of American citizens.

“the drug alcohol” did not and does not create alcoholism, a behaviorial condition brought about by persons who get into an excessive drinking habit; a habit that the vast majority of alcohol consumers do not allow themselves to develop

Alcohol is no more responsible for alcohomism than sex is for sex addiction, or than guns are for “gun violence”.

Even when people fail to control their behavior, that failure CAUSED by the drug, the sex, or the gun violence, and that failure is not fixed and permanent and control is within their ability.

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